Clean Up In Aisle Seven
by CorvusCorvidae
Summary: A chance encounter in the baking aisle ensures that Quinn's senior year is not going to go the way she planned. But maybe it could be better. AU.
1. Chapter 1

*0*0*

Clean Up In Aisle Seven

*0*0*

One week before school was due to start and Quinn was fully prepared for her Senior Year. She had completed her summer reading, had trained meticulously hard in preparation for keeping her Head Cheerios position, had prepared the Celibacy Club agenda, and knew that this year was going to be the best. There was nothing that could spoil it, not even her fellow peers, and she couldn't help but smile at the very thought.

Gone were the days of her fighting for top position, and gone were the squabbles over boys. She was done with all that, and ready to face the last year she'd spend in Lima, Ohio, as the new and improved Quinn Fabray.

College was next year, and she couldn't wait. There was just nothing that could ruin this, nothing at all. There was no spanner in the works, no thorn in her side, and no fly in the ointment, or whatever that ridiculous saying was. Things were going to be perfect; they just had to be. She deserved that much.

Things were finally calm, almost peaceful even. The last year had been hellish, but this year was going to be different, it was going to be nice and relaxing. She'd keep her perfect GPA, continue to rule the school, and graduate with a scholarship to somewhere, anywhere. That was the plan, and nothing, absolutely nothing, was going to prevent that from happening.

As if trying to prove her wrong, Quinn's peaceful Sunday morning was interrupted rather abruptly by the continuous beeping of a truck backing up. Normally, deliveries weren't made on a Sunday, so curiosity got the better of her and she wanted to investigate. Crawling off the bed, Quinn went to her bay window and looked out, flicking the curtain out the way from obscuring her view.

A mover's van, fully reversed now, was sitting in her neighbour's drive. Along with the rental van was a black Escalade and a red Lexus, both driver's still in the vehicles. God, Quinn could already smell her mother baking downstairs in preparation. No doubt she'd have them over for tea or something later and they'd all get to play dress up as the perfect family.

Rolling her eyes at the thought, she walked away from the window before she was caught peeking and dropped back on her bed with a sigh. Her mother may no longer be the doting housewife she once was, but old habits die hard. Whatever, at least it would keep her preoccupied and off Quinn's back.

Sending a text to Santana and Brittany, Quinn asked what they were up to and if they wanted to do something. It was still summer after all, surely they could do something fun while they all had the free time.

They agreed the mall, for an easy day of shopping. It wasn't the thrilling adventure Quinn had hoped for, but she would take it. It got her out the house, after all. Plus, it would be nice to spend some time with the two of them, just like old times.

As it turned out, her friends sucked and had ditched her at the last minute for an impromptu sex rendezvous. Quinn was pissed, reading over the text once more. She had already driven to the mall, and was waiting on them to arrive when it came in.

Apparently, there was just no way they could pass up the opportunity to tick off number thirty-six on their list of 'Public Places to Have Sex in Lima Before Graduating'. They at least had the decency to tell Quinn of their change of plans and gave her a warning to steer clear of the church off Main Street.

However, their warning came too late, and she was left with nothing to do. She was out, and didn't want to go home just yet. That would be a wasted trip. She briefly considered going to the Church off Main Street and dragging their horny asses out of there to spend time with her, but past experiences told her not to. There's only so many times you can see your friends having sex before it starts to do psychological damage, Quinn was sure of it.

Before slipping her phone back in her bag, she received another message, this one from her mom, asking her to pick a few things up from the store, and Quinn couldn't help but feel relieved that she now had a purpose. She didn't particularly want to wander around aimlessly all morning. God, she was meant to have a jam-packed summer, not be stuck hanging out with herself.

Pulling out of the mall car park, she headed straight there, and tried not to feel too bummed out over being ditched. Surely she would be used to it by now. After fighting for a car parking space, who knew the place would be packed on a Sunday morning, Quinn quickly entered the store and grabbed a basket.

Getting out her phone, she looked over the list of things her mother needed and started to hunt them out. She weaved her way around the busier aisles and tried to avoid going in the chock-a-block ones, opting to come back to them later. She was almost finished, and was relieved at the thought, as the people around her were grating on her nerves. Did they really need to push and shove to get the best bread? Was there a shortage of potatoes that she was unaware of? Were they having a sale on ice cream? It was just madness.

Entering an almost deserted aisle, Quinn grinned happily and continued to search for the specific brand items her mother was so desperately after. She could just hear her in her head, _'the quality of goods used reflect the quality of the taste afterwards, Quinnie!' _No doubt if Quinn came back with anything other than the brands Judy had specified then she'd be sent out again to get the right one.

Why they couldn't just buy a store bought pie was beyond her.

Quinn spotted the sugar she was after but her eyes didn't linger on it long as there was something much more amusing at the other side of the aisle. Huffing and puffing away to herself as she tried to reach the top shelf stood a girl who had to be about five foot two, at most. Standing on her tiptoes and with her arm outstretched, she still couldn't get purchase on the box she was reaching for.

Quinn couldn't help but smile as the girl considered using the bottom shelf as a step to help her reach it, and only when the girl picked up an orange out of her basket to launch at the box to knock it down did she stop her smiling and step in.

"Do you want me to get that for you?" she asked, finally alerting the other girl to her presence.

"Oh." She took a step back instinctively, having alarmed the girl, but was rewarded with a bright smile. Quinn couldn't help but notice the light blush warming her cheeks at having been caught, and bit back another smile. "Yes please, if you wouldn't mind."

"It's not a problem." And it wasn't. Quinn just reached up and grabbed the box easily, without any extra effort or struggle. "Do you just want one?"

"Yes, thank you." Depositing the box into her basket, the girl shuffled her weight from foot to foot, nervously chewing her lip. "How much of my struggle did you see, if you don't mind me asking?" Pushing her hair from her face, the girl finally made eye contact with Quinn, allowing her to see her face for the first time.

While the girl's short stature and her little huff about being too short played into the whole 'cute' category she seemed to fit, her eyes sealed the deal. She was the epitome of cuteness. Like one of those kittens with their big wide eyes, completely innocent and wondering about everything around them.

_Christ, Q, rein in your gay before it starts to show. _

"Not much, there was some huffing and puffing, but that was it. I only stepped in to help as I don't think the shoppers on the other side would appreciate getting hit by a stack of boxes and an orange flying over the top." The brunette blushed and bit her lip, a smile tugging at her lips. She cast her eyes up, looking at Quinn under her lashes, and mashed her lips together.

"Well, they should thank you for saving them," she replied, the blush still evident on her cheeks.

"They should," Quinn agreed, biting her lip and smiling back at her.

"I'm Rachel," the girl declared, standing up a little taller, which really wasn't much, and giving her another bright smile.

"Quinn."

"Pleasure to meet you." Rachel's eyes were alight with something that Quinn couldn't decipher. She just couldn't tear herself away though, and took in the deep expressive gaze looking back at her.

"You too," she said, licking her lips. It was a completely unconscious thought, but in doing so, she had just managed to declare some form of attraction to the girl. Rachel's eyes only flickered from hers for a brief second, down to her lips and then back up, before her tongue peeked out and wetted her own, her teeth following to bite the bottom lip.

Swallowing nervously, Quinn felt like the temperature just rose twenty degrees. Who the hell worked the air conditioner in this place? It was like a sauna all of a sudden. She'd complain. She'd complain to the manager, after she tore herself away from Rachel. If she ever did.

As though the Gods had heard her, their bubble was suddenly burst by the obnoxious blaring of Quinn's cell phone. The blonde quickly fumbled to get it, mentally cursing whoever the hell was calling her. She didn't know what that whole staring contest thing Rachel and her just had, but it had left butterflies in her stomach and she was keen to investigate more of it.

"Yeah?" Quinn answered, trying not to sound as pissed off as she felt. She didn't want to give the impression she was a complete bitch. Turning back to said girl, Quinn watched as Rachel began to organise the items in her basket. There were a lot of items Quinn had never seen before, and the words 'Vegan' and 'Organic' came up a lot.

"Are you at the store yet, Quinnie?" Judy asked, ignoring her daughter's poor greeting. She didn't even get a 'hello', that was just unacceptable phone etiquette.

"Yeah, mom, I'm there now."

"Any chance I can get you to hurry it along a bit? I don't want to have to skip going over there tonight just because you've been lollygagging around." Rolling her eyes, Quinn could just imagine her mother standing in the living room, peeking round the curtains to see if the neighbours were settling in and trying to work out when was an appropriate time to introduce themselves. Clearly that time was soon, Quinn gathered, from Judy's growing lack of patience.

"I'll have you know I just saved my fellow shoppers from a brutal attack," Quinn replied, seeing Rachel smile at the light teasing. She rolled her eyes and shook her head at Quinn, making the blonde smile brighter.

"What?" her mother asked, suddenly very confused, and breaking their little moment once again.

"Never mind," Quinn replied quickly, not wanted to go into details. Her mother wouldn't understand, and would probably class the whole thing as her 'lollygagging around'.

"Should I be worried?"

"Nope," Quinn replied, eyes back on Rachel. There was definitely nothing to worry about, not when Rachel was smiling at her like that.

"Okay, I shall see you when you get home. Thirty minutes, Quinn, and then I'm coming to get you myself. " God, she could actually see her lunatic mother doing that. They'd have a show down in the cereal aisle or something equally as crazy.

"Thank you."

"And whoever they are, invite them over for dinner sometime," Judy tacked on, just when Quinn was ready to pull the phone away and hang up. Her mother's words caught her completely by surprise, and she imagined that she looked a little like a fish out of water. Rachel's amused glance confirmed that thought.

"What?" she croaked, her body stiffening. She hadn't mentioned meeting someone. Was her mother watching her? Taking a quick look round the rest of the aisle, she tried to spot a wild Judy, but came up short.

"You know what, missy," Judy replied, her grin evident in her tone.

"No I don't," Quinn argued, suddenly feeling the need to get off the phone as soon as possible in case she gave anything further away. "Anyway, I've got to go."

"I'm sure you do," her mother sang, giggling away to herself afterwards.

"Stop that." Judy just laughed harder and hung up on her. Quinn looked at the phone in shock and almost growled. She could just imagine the conversation they'd be having later. And the audacity to hang up on her!

Mother of the year, right there.

Rolling her eyes, Quinn slipped her phone into her bag and looked back at Rachel. She wanted to continue talking to her, she wanted more than this one off incident, but there was nothing more she could say or do to prolong it. She had to get going, lest Judy decided to come meet who had her daughter practically glowing down the phone.

Yeah, that wasn't happening. No way.

Biting her lip, Quinn fumbled over the words in her head, unsure what to say. She didn't want to go. This, whatever this was, felt different, important somehow, but once she walked away, that would be it. That's all she could let it be. Hiding in the closet like Quinn was, meant she couldn't just ask to see the girl again, especially not when it was so blatantly obvious she was interested in her. Her actions seemed to be returned, though, which gave her some hope, but not enough to have her saying any more.

This would be it for them, and Quinn was okay with that. Yes, she was a little disappointed, but knew she wasn't ready to take the next step of actively pursuing someone. She couldn't. Her mother had been through enough this year, what with the separation and her father's adulterous scandal. Judy needed the peace and quiet, and Quinn could wait a year before being herself. It wouldn't be hard. She could manage, or at least she told herself that.

"I have to go," Quinn began, biting her lip further, a little surprised she hadn't drawn blood yet. She knew she had to move, to take a step back from Rachel, but her feet just didn't want to and were still stuck in place.

"Me too, actually," Rachel replied, her eyes not leaving Quinn's. Those eyes, those goddamn eyes, were like a magnet, pulling Quinn in. That's all she could feel, this pull towards the girl, to talk to her, to get to know her, to see her again, to just be around her. It was hypnotising, and completely foreign at the same time.

She didn't want to drop her gaze, didn't want to take her eyes off those staring back. That would be a crime. For some reason, whatever reason she could fathom, Quinn needed to soak them in, soak her in. Walking away from this girl didn't feel right, and her body was screaming at her not to do so, that doing so would be a big mistake, but the reality was that she had no reason to stay. Those eyes didn't count.

Rachel finally filled the silence, her mouth opening to speak. She swallowed nervously first and tried again, fidgeting with the handles of her basket. "I'm probably going to sound completely crazy but that's okay, I doubt I'll ever see you again. I just feel that I need to ask this, to know if I'm making it all up or if it is actually there, but, you feel it, right?" _It_ did not need specified.

Nothing needed specified, because it, this connection, this pull, felt so obvious. There was no way she could have missed it.

"Yeah, I feel it." Rachel smiled softly and dropped her eyes, nodding her head almost glumly. The need to stay and talk to her was overwhelming then, and if Quinn didn't leave soon she wasn't going to, her mother's baking be damned.

"I'm glad I wasn't just imagining it," she confessed, looking back at the blonde.

"Me too." Giving each other another look, Quinn took a shaky step back, trying to cut the connection. She had to go now before she did something stupid, like ask for the girl's number. Flirting with the occasional girl that she'll never see again was acceptable, anything more than that was playing with fire while doused in lighter fluid.

"Try not to decapitate anyone next time you can't reach something," Quinn said, looking at the oranges in the girl's basket.

Rachel chuckled and shook her head. "I can't make any promises, but I'll try. Thank you for helping me."

"You're welcome." She wanted to add more, to propose that they meet up again, but she couldn't. She wasn't ready. Admitting that you liked girls and going after girls were two very different things. She couldn't do it. Not yet.

"Bye, Quinn." Rachel gave her another smile, unleashing the full extent of her gaze again, but made no move to leave.

"Bye, Rachel." Chewing her lip, she finally pulled her eyes away and strode down the aisle. She could walk away, it wouldn't be the end of the world. Hell, she'd just met the girl, that was nothing. They'd just exchanged pleasantries, nothing remotely interesting happened at all.

_Liar!_

Shaking her head, Quinn pushed all thoughts of the girl behind her away and surveyed the items in her basket. She had to get back to her mom before the woman sent out a search party. Glancing at what she had she was still two items short, and then she groaned in frustration, realising the damn sugar she was after was in the aisle she just left.

Turning back around, she saw Rachel still standing there, a bemused look on her face at Quinn's return, but tried her best to ignore it. If she could just get by without looking into those eyes then she'd be fine. Unfortunately, she couldn't hold off sneaking a peek and saw that Rachel was smirking at her forgetfulness. God, she was making herself look like an idiot.

"Just forgot to- you were- needed the sugar- baking- I saw- okay then, bye!" Walking away as fast as she could without running, Quinn felt her face heat up in a blush. Behind her, she could hear Rachel laughing at the blonde's garbled up sentence, and she bit back a smile. As mortifying as that was, at least she'd left the girl smiling.

Not wanting to loiter in the store any longer than she had to, and possibly running into Rachel again, Quinn hightailed it to her last item and then quickly went to the checkout. Within five minutes of leaving Rachel in aisle seven, she was back in her car and heading home.

However, it was clear, there was just no way she'd be forgetting that face any time soon.

*0*0*


	2. Chapter 2

*0*0*

Clean Up In Aisle Seven

*0*0*

Pulling up in her drive, Quinn noticed that the movers were still unpacking furniture next door, which was a good sign. That meant her mom had plenty of time to get baking, giving them time to get everything settled. Her mother couldn't moan at her for taking too long. Though, in reality, that moment in the baking aisle could never be long enough.

Opening the front door, she was immediately met with the smell of her mother's baking, and grinned. Quinn always loved coming home to that smell. It reminded her of when she was a little girl, when everything was simple and there were no complications, just her sister, Frannie, and her coming back from school to fresh cookies or chocolate muffins. They were good memories, and Quinn paused in the entryway to soak it all up, relishing in the few good memories left unscarred.

"Quinnie, that you?" her mom called, having heard the door.

"No, it's a burglar with a key. Of course it's me," she replied, shaking her head as she headed towards the kitchen.

"None of your sass, young lady. Get in here and give me my goods." Judy grinned as Quinn entered, and her eyes locked on the bag in her daughter's hand. She took it from her grasp and poured the contents out on the worktop, not giving Quinn a second glance.

"Jeez, mom, you're welcome. Don't go overboard with your gratitude," Quinn muttered, not amused. She pulled herself away from a beautiful girl to get her mother's lousy ingredients and she didn't even get a thanks for it. Typical.

Dropping her keys and bag onto the kitchen table, Quinn eyed up the oven. Something smelt good, but she had yet to determine what her mother had baked already. From the looks of it, they were muffins. Her stomach growled at the thought, and she quickly set about sneaking some of the Cherries she'd just bought. Her mother swatted her hand away, unimpressed, and then returned to measuring out ingredients for the Cherry Pie.

Quinn was happy to just sit at the table and watch her mom bake. It was another thing Frannie and her used to do, and she missed it. After all, it wasn't every day that Judy pulled out the baking tins and spatulas. That only happened on 'special' occasions, and given the last year they'd had, there was nothing special about it.

"So, you met someone?" Judy crooned, a grin working its way over her face. Her words cut through Quinn's thoughts, something she was thankful for, but the blush making her way across her cheeks was not welcome.

"No. What gave you that idea?" Playing innocent seemed like the best approach, Quinn thought, trying to look unfazed. It wasn't working.

Rather than take her seriously, her mother just laughed and shook her head. "Okay, Quinnie, if you want to keep it a secret, that's fine with me." Rolling her eyes, because her mom thought she was being a 'cool parent', Quinn stood up and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, pinching some more of the cherries.

"Give me a shout when it's time to go. I'll just be upstairs." Excusing herself from the kitchen before her mom could say anymore on the matter, she took the stairs two at a time and headed into her room.

First thing first, she needed to call Santana. Not only was she going to get an earful for ditching her, but she also needed to ask about whatever the hell took place with Rachel. That wasn't normal, right? Was that what everyone felt when they were attracted to someone?

Granted, she had been attracted to girls before, obviously, and perhaps she had also shamelessly flirted with them, but never had she felt that connection she had with Rachel. It didn't really make sense. She knew she wasn't ready to date a girl, because she didn't want to hide her relationship in the closet with her, so what did she want? Why was she so hung up on this one girl?

Dropping back onto her bed, Quinn grabbed her phone and called Santana. It rang continuously before heading to voicemail, earning a groan from the blonde. She needed her friend and she damn well was going to answer her phone when she called. Ending the call, she hit redial and tried again. It rang twice before being sent to voicemail, which flared Quinn's temper. How dare Santana send her to voicemail!

For all Santana knew, Quinn could be lying in a ditch dying somewhere having been abducted while waiting by herself at the mall for her lousy friends who didn't show up. How was she to know that Quinn was actually just having a mini freak out over a girl? How was she to know that the blonde hadn't just bled to death calling her for help?

Calling again, Quinn put the phone on loudspeaker, and listened as the phone continued to ring. She was almost certain it was going to go to voicemail, where she would leave a message bitching the girl out, and then promptly call Brittany to do the same. Calling Brittany was her ace in the pack, as she would feel bad for ditching and Santana would be made to make it up to Quinn. Nodding at her plan, she prepared to spew abuse the second she heard the beep, but instead was met with abuse herself.

"You better be fucking dying, Fabray, because if you're not, I'm going to kill you," Santana spat, answering the phone just before it hit voicemail.

"You assholes ditched me!" she whined, unimpressed with them. If Santana and Brittany had shown up then she wouldn't have met Rachel, and she wouldn't have all these confusing and conflicting feelings.

"You've got to be fucking joking me, Q. I'm going to beat your skinny white ass when I see you. That's why you called, to bitch at us for ditching you?"

"Yes!" she cried, not understanding why Santana was so grouchy. Hell, you'd think after having sex she'd be less of a bitch.

"I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, Fabray."

"What's your problem?" she asked, hearing Brittany in the background refuting Santana's statement.

"Your whinging just got Britt-Britt and me in shitloads of trouble, asshole."

"How?" She felt a little bad about getting Brittany in trouble, but wasn't that bothered about Santana. Though, she seriously doubted it was actually her fault. Santana was no doubt being dramatic.

"Your perfect timing meant my phone rang during Pastor Morris's service. I've got my face in between Brittany's legs working my magic as she sits dutifully _praying _to God, and the damn thing goes off!" Santana bitched, causing Quinn to break out into a grin. "Morris is waiting for her to turn it off, and some nosey bitch two pews down tries to help, only to see me on my hands and knees worshipping something else. The fucker fainted! Hope the bitch croaked it. We had to get the fuck out of there, all thanks to you!" Quinn couldn't bite back the laughter anymore as she imagined her friends getting caught in the act. "That's right, laugh it up, bitch. Revenge is going to be sweet."

"Oh come on, if the roles were reversed you'd get your kill!" she argued, still smiling at the thought.

"Not the point. We're banned from there now. Banned, Q, as in we can't go back. Do you know how pissed my parents are going to be when they find out I was going down on a Britt in Church? Not just any Church, but a Protestant Church?" Quinn could just imagine how mortified Santana's very Catholic parents were going to take the news. Bursting into another fit of laughter, she shook her head and suddenly felt like justice had been served. They ditched her, and now were paying the price.

"Will they really be surprised?" she asked, fully aware Santana's parents had dealt with similar situations in the past, though the Church was a new one.

"Probably not, but banned from Church, Q, a Protestant Church! I'm going to be dragged to mass for the rest of my fucking life now." Chuckling again, Quinn shook her head, loving the thought of Santana explaining that one to Coach Sylvester when she wanted to start her Sunday Sectionals Training regime. "So what was so goddamn important your lazy ass couldn't wait until tonight to talk to me about?"

Suddenly, Quinn didn't want to share. Santana's fiery mood meant she was probably going to be met with sarcasm and disdain, which she really didn't need. Her silence did speak volumes though, as she heard Santana excuse herself from Brittany to speak to Quinn.

"Come on, spill, what's going on?" she asked, her tone somewhat softer.

"I met a girl," Quinn whispered, just loud enough for Santana to hear.

"Holy shit, _you _met a girl? Trying to get your own sweet lady kisses on, I see." She could just imagine her friend's proud grin at the news, but there was nothing to be proud of as far as Quinn could see. She was still a coward, trying to keep the peace by hiding in the closet, and was still as confused as ever about her feelings.

"No. It's not like that," she muttered, pushing all thoughts about kissing Rachel from her mind.

"Then what is it like?" Santana asked, her voice laced with confusion.

"When you're with Brittany, do you ever get this overwhelming feeling to just be closer to her?"

"How do you think we ended up in the Church in the first place?" she joked, earning a chuckle from Quinn.

"San, I'm being serious," she said, trying to stop smiling.

"Okay, okay. Explain it again."

"I don't really know how to, we were just standing there looking at one another and I felt something." She heard Santana snort in laughter down the phone and quickly ploughed on, not wanting to hear the upcoming jokes. "Not like that, asshole. I wanted to get to know her and I felt like walking away from her was the wrong thing to do. It was as if she had anchored me to her, and I couldn't leave. I don't really know what I'm saying," she sighed in defeat and buried her head in her pillow, silently pouting.

"It's like you know they're special and walking away would be sacrilegious," Santana said, her tone soft and unquestioning. She wasn't asking, she was stating fact.

"Yes!" Quinn cried, pout gone, and a smile firmly on her lips. It felt good to know she wasn't crazy, and that others had felt something similar.

"Yeah, I've felt that before."

"Brittany?" she questioned, despite knowing that it couldn't be anyone else.

"No, you dumb shit, Mrs Graham, the sixty year old librarian. Of course Brittany." Quinn ignored Santana's first comment and focused on the second. It was a rarity, but Quinn couldn't be more thankful for when Santana opened up to her. They didn't need to worry about the other stabbing them in the back, they could just be friends without the hassle, and moments like this one just cemented that fact. "So, did you get her number?"

"No, I couldn't," Quinn confessed, pouting again.

"Why not?"

"I'm not ready. I mean, we all weren't born waving our pride flag around, S." Rolling her eyes, she flopped over onto her back and looked at the ceiling.

"Neither was I, Q, so don't even start with me. Why can't you? What's stopping you?" Santana was back to being herself again, walls up and on the defence. Though given her comment, Quinn wasn't that surprised. She shouldn't have said what she did, it was obviously going to piss her off.

"I don't want to start something I have no intention of finishing. I'm going to college next year, and-"

"And you'll want to have hooked up with as many girls as possible before then. Trust me, Q, you do not want to go off to college a virgin." Santana's utter disdain at the thought was clear through the phone, and Quinn could just imagine her disgusted face.

"But what if I'm not ready to have sex yet?"

"Then don't. Look, I'm not going to force you to go knuckle deep in the next girl you see, just keep your options open. This girl, you liked her, right?"

Completely ignoring Santana's vulgar comment, Quinn nodded. "Yeah."

"You going to see her again?"

"I doubt it, I only know her first name. Never seen her before." Now she felt stupid for not having asked more about Rachel, but then again it was a thin line between 'curious' and 'creeper'.

"Okay, so that sucks. But if you did, would you got for it?"

"It?" she questioned, wanting specifics. For all she knew, Santana meant sex. Did she want to have sex with Rachel? God, there's a thought. Was she ready to do that? No. No, definitely not ready to do that.

She could practically hear Santana roll her eyes on the other end, hearing Quinn's anxious tone. "Take a chance, get her number, see where it goes. Hell, she might be straight for all you know."

"There was no way she was straight," she replied quickly, shaking her head vehemently. She could still picture Rachel licking her lips and eyeing up Quinn's. She totally checked her out, and from the looks of things, and Rachel's question about feeling it too, Quinn knew there was nothing platonic in mind. Definitely not straight.

"Awww, my little baby gay, I'm so proud of you! Have you finally developed a gaydar?" Santana cooed, causing Quinn to put her own walls down. She wasn't going to take that crap.

"Fuck off." Santana burst out laughing, only irritating Quinn more.

"Honestly, Q, let go of the reins. You've done the prissy little bitch act for three years, let this one be different. Britt and I will still be here if it all goes tits up."

"I bet you will," she muttered.

"So, that all you needed?"

"Yeah." Rolling back over onto her front, she grabbed the phone from the bedspread and took it off loudspeaker, putting it up to her ear to her Santana's reply.

"Good, cause I'm about to get my ass handed to me. My mother looks fucking pissed. I actually think she's going to murder me. Call me later to see I'm still alive?"

"Will do," Quinn replied, grinning at the thought of Mama Lopez kicking Santana's ass. She was the only one who could get away with it, and it was awesome to see.

"Cheers." Hanging up, Quinn threw her phone to the end of the bed and sighed.

Talking to Santana had helped, immensely, actually, but she still felt a little iffy. She regretted not asking Rachel for her number, or arranging to see her again, and that thought was eating away at her. Yeah, maybe she wasn't ready to date anyone, but she could have been friends with the girl at least.

Well, it was too late now, she just had to suck it up and deal, no matter how much that didn't sit right with her. Closing her eyes, Quinn rubbed her temples, feeling the beginning of a headache coming on, and willed herself to just block out all thoughts of those damn chestnut coloured eyes and the body connected to them.

Waking from her nap, several hours later, Quinn made her way groggily down the stairs and into the kitchen. Her mother had clearly finished baking, as the place was back to looking immaculate and unused. The only signs of her afternoon work was the glorious smell of freshly baked goods, and said goods sitting on the counter.

They looked like something out of a magazine, perfectly baked and placed specifically for the best look. The muffins, which Quinn now noticed were blueberry, were sitting in one of those god awful wicker baskets her mother kept for these exact occasions, completed with a red and white checked cloth lining it. She could just imagine Judy swinging the damn thing as she skipped across the lawn to welcome them.

The cherry pie looked just as good as the muffins, and it smelt fantastic. Why her mother only used her baking skills to bake for other people was beyond her. Surely her own daughter should get to enjoy some of it too.

Hearing footsteps behind her, Judy walked in, grinning ear to ear. "Quinnie, great timing! I was just getting ready to come and get you. The new neighbours have settled in, and I want to make them feel welcome to the neighbourhood. Go get changed into something nice and we'll heave right on over." She beamed at her daughter, but frowned at the lack of enthusiasm she was met with. "What's wrong?"

"Just not feeling that great, mom. I'll be fine." Rubbing her temples again, she could feel the headache coming back. "Let me just go get changed."

"Oh no, I'm not taking you over there if you're not well. That won't do, not at all. We want to be welcoming, Quinnie, not scare them."

"How would I scare them?"

"You get that look," Judy said, wiping down her pristine outfit. Quinn cocked an eyebrow in question and then frowned, causing Judy to nod. "Yes, that look! We don't want them seeing that look. So, you go rest, and I'll head over myself."

"Mom, it's fine. I can-" Before she had a chance to finish, the doorbell rang, and both women stood a little taller, looking towards the door.

They weren't expecting anyone, and normally visitors called before coming over. Given past experiences, both of them were a tad unnerved about going to answer it. Judy put on a perfect smile, though, and walked towards the door.

Quinn loitered in the doorway, her eyes locked on the entryway. Her heart had picked up speed, and her breathing was trying to match it, her protective instincts kicking up a notch. One too many times that doorbell rang and trouble entered. She refused to let that happen again.

Watching carefully, Quinn was relieved to see that it was in fact Mrs Grayson, who lived three doors up on the opposite side of the street. Her defences dropped immediately, and she slouched against the wall, happy that trouble had not decided to stop by today.

"Oh Judy, I'm glad I caught you! You'll never believe who has just moved in next door!" Mrs Grayson said, her voice was alight with excitement, though not the good kind, the kind that takes pleasure from telling people bad news.

"Oh, who?" her mother sounded oddly curious, rather than salivating over the very thought of gossip, much to Mrs Grayson's displeasure, Quinn noted.

"The gays!" Frowning, Quinn shook her head. That made no sense. Surely not every gay person had moved in next door to them. Hell, if they had then Santana would be over by now eating all their food. Plus, where was her invite?

Looking at her mother's face, she took in the mask her mother had perfected. Only someone who knew Judy very well would be able to tell she was actually speechless by Mrs Grayson's declaration. Quinn eyed her again, trying to see if it was a good speechless or a bad one. This actually was a good indicator for how things would go if she ever stopped having tea with Aslan and got her ass out the closet.

"It's two gay men, and their daughter! Can you believe it?" Mrs Grayson said, unfazed by Judy's silence, and bouncing in excitement to spill the rest of the details. "Two gay men, husbands, have moved here to our neighbourhood! Their daughter's in her teens. It's awful. Sinners, complete and utter sinners. Disgusting, dragging an innocent child into a house like that, full of filth. Save your homemade cakes, Judy. You won't want to be wasting them on the likes of these folks! Anyway, I just thought I'd warn you. Got to go and spread the news. We'll make it clear to them whose welcome here in Lima, and it ain't them!" She waved her fist in some sign of support for her cause and then dashed off the doorstep.

Judy didn't even get a chance to reply, just shut the door behind Mrs Grayson's retreating back and then leant against it, looking a little taken aback. She saw Quinn watching her carefully and sighed. This was a big moment. Suddenly she was smack damn in the middle of a minefield and had to get back to base without blowing herself to smithereens.

The old Fabrays, under Russell's regime, would most definitely not have gone over there. In fact, Russell would have been on the phone to the mayor by now, trying to find a way to run them from Lima for good. An entire campaign would have been set up, with local funding and all, just to get rid of them.

However, Judy was not Russell, and with him out of the picture they had to make their own decision. They were either going to hold onto their old views, that homosexuality was a sin, or they were going to move forward and be accepting, everyone is god's child no matter who they love.

"Well," Judy began, pushing herself off the door, "that was an interruption we didn't need, and frankly, a wholly inappropriate one."

She watched as her mother smoothed down her skirt and straightened her blouse, a small smile coming to Quinn's face. They were moving forward, and from her mother's uneasiness with the blatant homophobia they had just witnessed, perhaps coming out of the closet wouldn't be so bad. Though, that didn't give her any inclination to do it anytime soon.

"I'm just going to get the muffins and the pie and head right on over then. Something tells me they won't be getting any more visitors today. Best to make them feel welcome. I'll be back shortly, get some rest, sweetie, and I'll get dinner ready when I return. Okay?"

Quinn nodded, a proud smile gracing her lips, and quickly made her way over and hugged Judy. Whether she knew it or not, she had just lifted her daughter's spirits and gave her hope. Hugging Quinn back, Judy kissed the top of her daughter's head and smiled, glad to have some form of mother daughter relationship that had been lacking years before.

"Right, well, I best be off," Judy said, collecting the food from the counter.

"See you later," Quinn said, shutting the door after her mom. She watched from the window as she crossed the lawn, curtains flickering as Judy approached the door, and Quinn knew that by now, half the street was on the phone to the other filling in the details of Judy's blatant disregard for the 'rules'.

Given that she didn't have to head out anymore, and that she had a bit of peace, Quinn headed back upstairs and went back to bed, willing the headache to let up. Maybe she'd get a reprieve later. But for now, Quinn settled in, pulling her covers over her, and yawned.

*0*0*

The second time she woke up, it was to her mother coming back from the neighbours. The front door had shut a little louder than usual, and like prey sensing a predator nearby, Quinn was up, looking around quickly for the threat, before heading into the hallway.

She was relieved to see it was only her mother, who was grinning happily as she locked the door and made her way out of sight. Her defences dropped, once again, and she relaxed, giving herself another moment to put her protective instincts to bed. Judy had a knack for knowing when Quinn was on edge, and the last thing she wanted was them having _that_ conversation again.

Entering the kitchen, Judy gave Quinn a warm smile, and continued getting dinner ready. Quinn returned her smile and sat down at the table, tucking her legs up onto the chair with her, her legs pressed against her chest.

"So did you have a good time?" she asked, a little eager to hear if her mother had any reservations about being around an openly gay couple.

"I had a lovely time!" Judy gushed. "Unfortunately, I only met one of them, as the father and daughter were out, but Hiram Berry was a very charming host. He absolutely loved my Cherry pie!" Quinn couldn't help but smile. Her mother had enjoyed herself, and hadn't let their sexuality deter her.

"Well that's good," she said, nodding. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."

"Yes, I think we're going to become fast friends. Hiram was lovely, and I suspect his husband, Leroy, is much of the same. Their daughter is your age, too, Quinnie. Isn't that great?" Quinn paused, picking up on her mother's change in tone. It went from being very pleased to the one she used when plotting.

Turning to look at her, Quinn narrowed her eyes as Judy avoided her gaze, instead she chose to focus on the potatoes boiling in the pot. As if that was interesting.

"What have you done?" Quinn said cautiously. She didn't want to spook her mother, because Judy was as stubborn as she was, and she would just keep the details to herself until she felt Quinn had calmed down. Past experience told her so.

"Me? Nothing," Judy cried, waving her hand a tad flamboyantly.

"Mom," Quinn growled, unimpressed.

"I was just being a gracious neighbour, Quinnie, so you really can't be mad at me."

"That's not true. Now what did you do?"

"Their daughter, she's your age."

"You mentioned that already." Judy needed to get to the point, and fast. What with the headache that seemed to constantly plaguing her, and the lack of food, Quinn was in a grouchy mood, and was just looking for a reason to bite someone's head off. She figured it would have been Santana's later on, but Judy was a decent enough alternative.

"Yes, and she's going to McKinley," Judy said, still busying herself with dinner and ignoring her daughter's pissed off look.

"Yeah?"

"Well, she doesn't have a car-" That was all Quinn needed to hear before the pieces fell into place.

"No."

"-and it's hardly fair to expect her to walk-" Judy continued, unfazed by her daughter's firm rebuttal.

"No."

"-when you have a car and are headed to the exact-"

"No," Quinn repeated, shaking her head.

"-same-"

"No."

"-destination."

"No, mom, no. I am not being some girl's chauffer!" Sighing, Judy crossed her arms, annoyed at her daughter's unwavering defiance.

"Calm down, for goodness sake. It's not like I asked you to be her personal driver, Quinn. All you have to do is take her to school and back. That's hardly an inconvenience." What the problem was, Judy couldn't see.

"Yes it is! I can't, I have Cheerios practice before and after school most days, and along with all my other clubs, there's just no way. It won't work," Quinn argued, hating how she had been signed up to be some girl's gofer for the year.

"Don't be ridiculous. I mentioned all this when I spoke to Hiram and he says it's fine." Judy shrugged like that was the problem solved, but that most certainly was not the case, not for Quinn at least. "You don't have to be friends with her, if that's what you're worried about. I'm not asking that of you."

"But you are practically asking that, I'm going to be with her every morning and every evening five days a week. Plus, what if I want to go to Santana's house or Brittany's after school? Then what?"

"Well, on those days you drop her off home first and then head over there." Quinn looked at her mother like she was crazy and shook her head again. She just didn't understand, and it was frustrating as hell.

"That's not going to work. What if we want to go out right after school?" The likelihood of that happening was high, seeing as Santana loved going for an impromptu trip to BreadstiX after a particularly hard practice or just any day that involved breathing.

"Invite her along," Judy replied, as if it was obvious.

"We don't even know her." God no, no way would she be inviting some girl with them. She hardly saw her friends as it was, what with them sucking face all the time. The last thing she wanted was some random intruding on their time.

"Why don't you give it a try, huh? Maybe you'll be friends. Quinnie, you're already judging the girl and you haven't even met her. I didn't raise you like that." Holding back a biting remark about how Frannie had practically raised her, Quinn got up and headed for the door.

"She gets one week, and if it doesn't work out, not my problem," she called over her shoulder, glad to get the last word in.

Judy rolled her eyes as her daughter left the kitchen, stomping her way up the stairs. Her behaviour really was ridiculous, and certainly something that warranted watching. No daughter of hers was going to be unhelpful and judging, absolutely not.

Upstairs, Quinn refrained from slamming the door, a habit she deplored, and dropped onto her bed. Her mother was ruining everything. How was this to be her perfect year when she had to chauffer some girl around? At best, the girl would be a fellow cheerleader, and Quinn could quickly pull her into the fold. That actually wouldn't be so bad, but at worst, she'd get some loser, another Jewfro, and be stuck listening to the latest manga gossip or God only knows what else on her way to school.

It was ridiculous, and it felt like it was going to be that damn thorn in her side, the bloody fly in the ointment and the frigging spanner in the works!

This was not how her final year was meant to begin.

Grabbing her phone, she wanted to vent, and quickly typed out a text.

To Santana:_ You better be alive, because the Head Cheerio position is practically yours this year. My mother signed me up as some kid's chauffer to and from school. Total crap. _

She knew it wouldn't take long before getting a reply, unless Mama Lopez had actually killed Santana. That wouldn't be that surprising. But, right enough, a minute or so later, her phone vibrated with a reply.

To Quinn:_ Haha, classic! Love Judy! Thanks for the heads up, I'll start getting my practice plans ready. And obviously, still alive, but still up shit creek without a paddle thanks to you. Better watch your back, Fabray. _

Quinn was a little worried about what Santana had in store for her, but wasn't going to let that on. No way was she going to show any weakness. It really wasn't her fault that she was in so much trouble. Perhaps texting Brittany and getting her to keep her girlfriend in check was needed.

To Santana:_ Enjoy that! And the position is not yours YET! I won't go down without a fight! _

To Quinn:_ Wanky. So what's the kid like? We throwing them in a dumpster or welcoming them into elite? _

Of course that's what was important here, at least someone understood. How could her mom not understand that if she brought the new school loser in everyday it would damage her reputation? And okay, yes, she didn't really care about what people thought of her anymore, but she wanted to avoid a I facial slushy as much as the next person.

To Santana:_ Ignoring that. And I don't know, I haven't met her yet. Knowing my luck it'll be some freak. _

To Quinn:_ Ignore all you want, you know I'm right. You're totally pressed. You need to get some lady loving!_

Rolling her eyes, Quinn chucked her phone over her shoulder towards her pillows. There was no point responding to that. Whatever she said was going to be twisted to fit Santana's argument.

Still wound up over the situation Quinn now found herself in, she shot a curious look next door. God, why her? Why did they have to move in next to her? Why did she have to be saddled with some girl? This was not the start to the new school year she was hoping for. She was now stuck with a responsibility she didn't want, and she couldn't do anything about it.

It's not like she could ditch the girl. She was mean and a little cruel at times, but she was trying to turn over a new leaf. Scary Quinn was in the past, this year was meant to be all about Calm Quinn. Yet she just knew that whoever lived next door was going to do nothing to keep her calm.

What a fantastic start.

*0*0*


	3. Chapter 3

*0*0*

Clean Up In Aisle Seven

*0*0*

Immaculately dressed in her Cheerio's uniform and ready to go, Quinn took a deep breath in front of her bedroom mirror. She was a different girl this year, or at least she planned to be, but she still looked like the same old Quinn Fabray, HBIC.

As much as she tried to fight it, she was nervous, and she hated that. She shouldn't have been nervous. It was only Mckinley, after all. What was the worst they could do? Slushy her? Call her names? Give her dirty looks? All of that seemed completely inconsequential now. But yet, those nerves still plagued her.

Quinn knew that it would take the school a couple of days, or weeks, to get used to the 'new' Head Cheerio, and she had thought this through when she first decided to drop the façade of the last three years. That didn't make it any easier, though, and standing in her suit of armour, the only thing that would protect her, made her look as much of the bitch she was last year.

They wouldn't see the difference, and if they did, they certainly wouldn't believe it.

Sighing, she grabbed her phone and checked the time. Her anxiety had left her a little behind her morning routine and she was considering skipping breakfast to get to school early. The sooner she got there, the sooner she'd stop stressing, or that was what she hoped, anyway.

"Quinnie, you coming down?" Judy called up the stairs, another reminder that she had to get going.

Rather than reply, Quinn chewed her lip in the mirror one more time before putting her game face on. She couldn't show weakness. While she intended to be nicer to people, that didn't mean she was going to let them treat her like shit in the process. Turning away from the mirror, she grabbed the rest of her belongings and chucked them in her bag, trotting down the stairs as she did so.

"Looking good, honey," her mom said, smiling proudly as she poured another cup of coffee.

"Thanks, mom." Heading straight to the fridge, Quinn grabbed the carton of juice and some cut up fruit, knowing she only had a few moments to grab something to eat before she needed to be out the door.

"Do you have Cheerio's practice today?"

"Yeah, I think so. Coach hasn't said otherwise so I assume so. You going to be working late?"

"Probably. You'll be able to feed yourself?" she asked, then opened the fridge to see if she had in fact left enough food for Quinn to eat later. If not, she'd give her money and tell her to order something.

"I'm doing it now, am I not?" Quinn sassed, her defences for school already making her a little prickly.

"Not very well, might I add." Rolling her eyes, Quinn stabbed another piece of mango. "Will you text me when you get home?"

"Of course." That was the routine, and Q didn't plan on messing it up. The unspoken message behind it was that if Quinn needed Judy for anything, she could call instantly. They had a procedure in place, a good one.

"Good, thank you. Oh, and don't forget to bring Miss Berry home, too," Judy added.

"Who?" Quinn frowned and finished off her fruit, putting the dish and cutlery in the dishwasher and dumping the cutting board in the sink to wash later.

"The girl next door. I can't remember her first name, which is just dreadful of me. But yes, remember, we talked about you giving her a lift to school and back?" Judy said patiently, raising her eyebrows in question. She remembered their little argument and wanting to make sure there wasn't a repeat of that.

"What, you were serious about that?" Quinn recalled the conversation, and she had hoped she could just forget about it before school started. Apparently, that worked a charm but now reality was waking her up to the real world.

"You know I was, Quinn." Judy's tone was enough to be a warning about how she should react, and Quinn bit back the urge to bitch about it.

"If she makes me late, she can walk home," Quinn growled, lugging her things to the door.

Judy, used to her daughter's dramatics, knew that the girl would not actually have to walk home. Quinn would feel far too guilty about doing that to someone. As much as she wanted to be perceived as having an ice cold exterior, Judy knew her to secretly worry and care about other people. So if Quinn wanted to rant and rave, she'd let her. At the end of the day, both girls would be getting out of Quinn's car, and there was no doubt about it.

"See you later. Have a good day at school, and I love you," Judy sang, unfazed.

"Yeah, same," Quinn mumbled before pausing. Shuffling back into the kitchen doorway, she shrugged her shoulder and rolled her eyes. "Love you too, and I'll see you tonight." She gave her mom a small smile, not wanting to leave on a bad note, and then headed out to her car.

She threw her crap in the back of the car and then nipped across the lawn to the neighbour's house, ringing the doorbell once. Within seconds, the door opened to reveal a tall, rather intimidating looking man. He gave her a quick glance and then broke out into a grin.

"You must be Quinn, Judy's daughter." Smiling politely, Quinn nodded and remembered all the manners she had been taught.

"Good morning, Dr. Berry. Is your daughter ready to go? It takes about thirty minutes to get to school in this traffic." Dr. Berry smiled and nodded, ushering her into the house. Quinn didn't want to go in as that implied she would be there a while, but didn't want to be rude so accompanied him inside. Those nerves she had squelched were coming back with a vengeance.

"She'll be done any minute now. Sorry about the delay, we'll make sure this doesn't happen again. I think she was having a wardrobe meltdown or something." That, Quinn could understand. Getting dressed for the first day of school would be impossible for her if she wasn't on the Cheerios. The uniform relieved her of that pressure, and on mornings like today, she was so thankful for that.

"Don't worry Dr. Berry, it's not a problem. We shouldn't be late," Quinn replied. It wouldn't be a problem as long as he didn't mind her breaking the speed limit to get them there before class started. The longer they left it, the worse traffic was going to get.

"Daddy, I'm not sure about this one, can you tell me if it looks-" Looking up to the top of the stairs, Quinn's eyes widened for a moment before she dropped her gaze to the floor.

No way. Absolutely not. No.

God was playing a cruel joke on her. He had to be. There was just no way that the girl standing at the top of the stairs was the one and the same girl that Quinn had met last week. That would just be torture, and it would make this situation so much worse.

"Oh, you should have called me, daddy. I wouldn't want to make us late. Can I just say thank you very much for doing this. I really appreciate- Quinn?" Rachel came to a halt at the bottom of the stairs and frowned.

"Hi, Rachel," Quinn replied, finally lifting her head and getting caught up in the brunette's shy smile. God, it was just like she remembered it being.

"You two have met already?" Leroy asked, pleased by this piece of news.

"Yes, daddy. Quinn was the girl who saved me from assaulting the shoppers in the baking aisle last week."

"Oh, what a small world," Leroy said, shooting his daughter a smirk. Rachel stood up straighter, and gave Quinn a megawatt smile of her own, completely ignoring her father.

"If you just give me a moment, I'll go grab my bag. And thank you for this, Quinn. It really means a lot to me." Quinn nodded, chewing on her lip once again, and watched as Rachel headed back up the stairs, a bounce in her step. She really shouldn't have watched her. It was wholly inappropriate. The girl was wearing a skirt, fabric flying, skin showing and everything.

Scolding herself mentally, Quinn turned and realised Leroy was still standing there. That smirk and friendly smile was gone, and instead she was met with a completely serious face and one cocked eyebrow. Blushing bright red, she looked away and coughed. Nice, why didn't she just stamp the word 'pervert' on her forehead?

"She's wearing a lovely skirt," Quinn mumbled, brushing down her Cheerios uniform, trying to make it seem like an innocent gesture.

"Uh-huh, lovely indeed," Leroy replied, shaking his head.

Thankfully, Rachel saved Quinn from further embarrassment by returning moments later. She hugged her father goodbye and followed Quinn as she made her way towards the door. Quinn made sure to thank Dr. Berry and wished him a good day as she showed herself out, not wanting to make a bigger tit of herself than she already had.

She needed to get to her car, as fast as possible. It felt like a safe zone, out from with under Leroy's knowing eyes. He couldn't know though. She'd just met him, and didn't girls look at other girls like that all the time? Rachel did have a nice skirt on, Quinn was sure of it. Though, for the life of her, she couldn't remember what it looked like. She didn't dare turn round to check, just in case Leroy was watching from the windows.

Once in the car, Quinn quickly put her key in the ignition and was ready to drive out before Rachel had even shut the passenger door. When it did finally shut, Quinn realised how foolish she was to think that this was better than being in the room with Leroy. She was now stuck, for the next thirty minutes, with the one girl she couldn't stop thinking about.

That damn fleeting connection in aisle freaking seven changed things, and where she once thought she'd never see those chestnut eyes staring back at her, they were watching her intently.

"Is everything okay, Quinn?" Rachel asked, having put on her seatbelt, and frowning in confusion as to why the vehicle hadn't moved yet.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Reversing out her drive, Quinn was careful not to speed until she was at least three streets away. They were cutting it a tad fine, but she hoped they would get to school on time. "You didn't mention that you were going to McKinley," she mumbled, after a few moments of silence.

"Pardon?"

"Last week, you never said you were going to McKinley," she repeated, hating how her cheeks suddenly felt warm. She was blushing, she was sure of it.

"No, you're right, I didn't." Quinn thought that was all she was going to get, and almost let out a sigh, but Rachel quickly opened her mouth to elaborate. "I really didn't know what to say last week, Quinn. I mean, we had just met, and I didn't know what age you were exactly. For all I knew, you could have been in college, just home visiting your family. I didn't want to sprout out that I was still in high school if that was the case."

"Why not?" she asked, wondering if Rachel would mention _it_.

"You know why not."

"No, I don't. Tell me." Quinn could pretend nothing had happened, she could live in denial, but with the girl she was secretly hung up on for the last week sitting next to her, all it would take would be confirmation for Quinn to know she hadn't made it all up.

"I see you've lost your charm," Rachel said, rolling her eyes at the blonde's demand. Chuckling, Quinn shook her head and tried again.

"I didn't know I had any, but we'll get to that in a minute. And no, I don't know why not, so could you please explain it to me?" She was probably being a pain in the ass, but right then Quinn didn't care.

"Let's not get back to that, thank you," Rachel replied, holding her head up high and looking out the window for some kind of distraction.

"You thought I was charming, I think that's something we should talk about," Quinn drawled, a smirk playing on her lips.

"I thought I was meant to be explaining why I didn't want to let you know I was in high school?"

"You are, but you seem as reluctant to do that as you are about confessing to thinking I'm charming."

"Thought, not think. You've lost it, I already said that. Keep up, please," Rachel answered, pursing her lips.

Her response had Quinn faltering internally. Okay, so she may have wanted Rachel to think she was charming, what was wrong with that? But now hearing how she wasn't charming, she felt a little off. She was still trying to change who she was, and all she'd been to Rachel so far was the apparently once charming girl in aisle seven. She didn't want to lose that. She didn't want to be the Head Cheerio to Rachel.

"But I _was_ charming?" Quinn finally asked, swallowing nervously as she did so.

"That day? Yes, I guess you were," Rachel said after a pause, heat rising in her cheeks as she did so.

"We barely spoke," she pointed out, feeling that was important. How had she been charming with such a small encounter? But then again, that small encounter had left her questioning herself enough for Quinn to know it really wasn't a small encounter at all.

"You saved a damsel in distress, Quinn. That's charming."

"A damsel, huh? I didn't know being short was so stressful," she teased, hoping to lighten the mood again.

"Hey! I'm not short, I'm just…not done growing yet," Rachel protested, frowning and crossing her arms over her chest. As if that move wasn't distracting. Come on Rachel, she was trying to drive, be a little considerate.

"You mean you've not started growing yet," Quinn corrected, a smile playing on her lips.

"Yes, you're definitely not charming. You're rude. Rude and mean. I can't believe I ever thought you were charming. What a mistake," Rachel called out, waving her hands now, though there was really no truth behind her words, she was just being dramatic.

"Well, you'll know not to make that mistake again." Rachel hummed in agreement and held her head up high, turning away from the blonde. "So why didn't you want to let me know you were in high school?" Quinn asked, bringing them back round to that.

Sighing, Rachel turned to look at Quinn. She had seriously hoped the other girl had forgotten, but that obviously wasn't the case, and now she didn't want to explain because it was embarrassing. Though, there was that familiar undercurrent present in the car, Rachel didn't want to acknowledge it any further.

Quinn was an unknown, seemingly thrown in to mess with her plans for the year. Making friends was on her agenda, but the butterflies in her stomach were not there for platonic reasons. And while Quinn had been charming and sweet in aisle seven, Rachel really didn't _know _her. She imagined that with these car rides that she would indeed get to know the blonde, in a purely platonic way, but with the beginnings of a crush settling in, could she really stop at being just friends with her?

Glancing again at the Quinn, Rachel chewed her bottom lip and frowned. Telling her was either going to make things really awkward for the both of them, or just be plain embarrassing for her. Great.

"Because…"she began, unsure how to proceed exactly.

"Because?" Quinn prodded, eagerly hoping for more.

"Why must I be the one to talk about what happened then? Why can't you say it?"

"Because I don't know what I'm meant to be saying," Quinn replied.

"Liar!" Rachel called out, pointing over at her animatedly.

"What? I am not!" she protested, shaking her head.

"Yes, you are! I asked you if you felt it too and you said you did. So, you either lied to me then or you're lying to me now, which one will it be?"

Quinn couldn't help but laugh at the girl's dramatics. She looked properly scandalised by the thought of Quinn lying to her on either of these occasions, and it was pretty cute to watch. However, Rachel's answer had revealed enough for Quinn to have the courage to come clean. All she wanted to know was if she made it all up in her head, and now she had confirmation that she had not done so; which was exactly what she was after, on one hand, and a living nightmare on the other.

"Fine, I lied now. I felt it," Quinn confessed, biting her lip for another dramatic reaction. It never came, however.

"So you know why I wouldn't want you to think I was some stupid high school student then?" Rachel asked, sounding shyer that she was a second ago.

"You seem to be forgetting I'm also 'some stupid high school student' as you so eloquently put it."

"I'm not, it's just back then, I thought you were older. It was the illusive charm, me thinks," she mused, knowing that despite her best efforts, Quinn was definitely still a little charming, and Rachel was loath to admit it.

"And I've lost it?"

"Absolutely."

"Is it not charming of me to drive you to and from school?"

"Nope," Rachel replied, trying to hide her grin as the blonde frowned.

"Why not?"

"I know you did this under duress. You didn't even know who you were taking to school until you saw me come down the stairs." The priceless look of shock on Quinn's face was brilliant. Though Rachel knew her own face must have looked pretty surprised, too.

"Well, yes, I didn't know it was you, but couldn't I just be a really nice person who was willing to help a neighbour in need?" She was laying it on thick, and Rachel knew that too.

"Back to lying, I see. Do you do that a lot?" Cocking her head to the side, Rachel honed her gaze on Quinn, who squirmed under it.

"No," she answered, shrugging one shoulder and hoping the brunette would look away.

"Is that a lie?"

"Is anything I now say going to be taken as the truth?"

"Depends what you say."

"I felt it. I…I feel it, and I'm sure you do too." How could she have missed it? It was palpable.

"I do," she confirmed, watching Quinn closely to see her reaction.

She took a deep breath and sunk back into her seat at the lights. Quinn couldn't help but feel a little relieved that she hadn't been imagining it, that it really was there, again, but now she was faced with a new dilemma. Did they talk about it?

As if sensing her discomfort over the topic at hand, Rachel quickly jumped in to change the subject. "I was wondering what was going to happen after school," she enquired, brushing down her skirt as she did so.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I assume you have cheer practice today?" At this, Quinn nodded, assuming she did as well. "And I gather that you're okay with taking me home, as well, right?"

"Right," she confirmed.

"So do you want me to just meet you at your car or what?" Rachel asked, unsure what was ahead.

"What are you going to be doing when I'm at practice?"

"Probably going to be in the Library, working, I assume." Rachel wasn't entirely sure, as this was her first day, but her fathers had asked and they kept the Library open after classes so that was suitable for her, at least until she found clubs to join.

"Then I'll come and meet you there, that way you don't have to stand outside. I don't know what time practice will finish." With Sue, it was always up in the air whether or not they would finish on time. If the new baby Cheerios fucked up, they're be there for hours.

"Okay, thank you."

"No problem."

"So…are you one of _those _cheerleaders?" Rachel wondered, cocking her head to the side. Her tone of voice was enough for Quinn to freeze in her seat, and as she waited to turn right, her indicator clicking, she stole a quick breath.

"One of what cheerleaders?" she asked, looking for clarification. Was her past about to haunt her?

"You know, the scary ones," Rachel said offhandedly. It sounded innocent enough, but God, that couldn't be further from the truth.

"I'm not scary," Quinn was quick to say. Though, after she said it she knew majority of McKinley would disagree with that statement. She was scary, at times, if pissed off.

"Really? I'm getting this vibe that you're top dog, whose bite is worse than their bark." How could Rachel see that already? They hadn't done anything. This was their second meeting and already she was emitting that vibe? Did she have a sign on her that said HBIC or something?

"That's not the saying," Quinn opted to say instead.

"I know that, I am very well versed, Quinn. You didn't answer my question, though. Are you one of those cheerleaders?"

Unsure what to say, Quinn pursed her lips and contemplated how to answer. She _was _one of _those _cheerleaders, and many people would agree with Rachel's statement. Her bite was worse than her bark, but she didn't want to be that anymore.

"I'll take your silence as agreement," Rachel finally said, and Quinn ducked her head a little.

"I'm not…yeah, I'm one of those cheerleaders. At least, I was. I'm trying to be different. I don't want to graduate in a year and know the only friends I have are the ones I haven't sunk the knife fully in their backs yet. I don't want that at all." Santana and Brittany really didn't count, because they were the only true friends Quinn had. It was rather depressing, really, when she thought about it.

"Reinventing yourself, then?" That was one way to put it, yes.

"Trying to."

"Well, I commend you for trying." Rachel gave Quinn a soft, comforting smile, but it only made her gut twist into knots.

"Don't," she mumbled, shaking her head.

"Why not?" The curiosity and confusion was written all over Rachel's voice, and Quinn shrugged her shoulder, not wanting this to become serious.

"Because I shouldn't be praised for trying to be nice. That should just be common courtesy." Only now, looking back, she could see the mistakes she had made, the cruelty she'd enforced onto others, and God, a small part of Quinn hated herself for what she had become. She didn't want to be that girl. No more, she needed to be different.

"You are nice," Rachel replied, fully believing that to be true. From her experiences with Quinn, it certainly was true.

"Tell that to the rest of McKinley and see what kind of reaction you get, because trust me, they won't agree." No, Quinn would be lucky if even Santana and Brittany agreed with Rachel's statement, but that was unlikely.

"I don't care if they don't agree. The Quinn Fabray I have met is nice, kind, and maybe just a little bit charming." That had Quinn fighting a smile, and she appreciated the gesture, glancing a look to the passenger seat.

"I thought I wasn't charming?"

"Meh, I changed my mind." Smiling brightly, Quinn nodded her thanks and watched as Rachel gave her a shy grin back.

Silence played out the short remainder of the rest of the journey, and soon Quinn was pulling into the parking lot. They had actually made it on time, with a few minutes to spare even, which was good news. It probably wouldn't have been if she'd been caught speeding, but alas.

Rachel was looking round rather anxiously, biting her lip as she did so. Quinn could understand the nerves. Attending a new school had to be difficult, and terrifying, so her heart went out to the other girl. She really wanted her to make it through this unscathed.

"Thank you for the lift, Quinn. I really appreciate it," Rachel said suddenly, pulling confidence from God only knows where. It felt like a mask, as Quinn would know, but she didn't want to call the girl on it.

"You're welcome," she replied, giving her a soft smile, hoping it was comforting. It seemed to be, as she received one back, but there was still anxiety behind those eyes. "If you…if you need anything, come find me, okay?"

Rachel gave her a neutral look, back to biting her lip, and then she shrugged her shoulders, smiling brightly. Once again, hiding her true feelings.

"Quinn, you don't need to take me under your wing. I'm a big girl," she replied, hoping that was convincing.

"I know, but McKinley is vicious at best. Just keep me in mind," Quinn finished.

"I've been doing that ever since we met," Rachel admitted, enjoying the blush that met Quinn's cheeks, before unbuckling her belt to get out the car. "Have a good day, Quinn," she said softly, smiling at her gently, ignoring the nerves completely.

"You too, Rach." Quinn was rather speechless, but tried her best to wave the girl bye.

Striding across the parking lot and towards the school, Rachel looked fearless. It was quite a transformation to watch, and Quinn soon followed her lead. Grabbing her things from the back of the car, she was about to walk away when Santana fell into her side, nodding Rachel's way.

"So, that her?" Her gaze was narrowed as she took Rachel in, and Quinn followed her eye line to glance at the other girl once again.

"Yeah, that's her," Quinn sighed contentedly.

"Are we welcoming her in true McKinley fashion with a slushy facial, or are we bringing her into our group?" Santana wondered, an almost evil grin playing on her lips. She loved the former, and the latter had potential if Quinn said so.

"Neither. Let her find her own way, but make sure she isn't slushied. I don't want her hurt." God, it would break Quinn apart if she found out somehow had hurt Rachel. The girl was far too sweet to endure such an act.

"What? Why?" Santana barked, frowning. "How come she's so special?" Banning people from slushies was not a usual practice, especially for new students. They were the best fresh meat, after all.

"It would be sacrilegious to hurt her," Quinn murmured, replaying the words Santana had used when they spoke about Quinn's encounter in aisle seven.

"Shit," Santana chuckled, clapping Quinn on the back, connecting the dots. Looking over her Captain's face, she outwardly laughed and shook her head. Girl was already a goner. "You're screwed."

Yeah, Quinn really was. This was her year to be different, to finish on a high. It was not the year to be coming out the closet, opening up to ridicule and hate, and falling from grace. Whether Rachel realised it or not, she'd just made Quinn's life ten times harder.

But on the other hand, that smile of hers pretty much made it a hundred times better.

Quinn really couldn't agree with Santana's assessment more. She was completely and utterly screwed.

*0*0*


End file.
